Colossal Road Trip – Part Two – Seattle, Washington to Fort Myers, Florida

It was a Colossal Road Trip — Don’t Need to do That Again —

Just before Thanksgiving 2021, we departed home in Traverse City, Michigan, to head west to take possession of our new Ranger Tugs R25.

That was only the beginning. It was a major, week-long trek to reach our destination of Des Moines, Washington (blue line on top of map). We talked about that trip in a couple of older posts, along with our delivery experience and a brief trip to Gig Harbor, WA.

We would have liked to spend more time in the Puget Sound area, but the weather deteriorated and did not look like it was going to be pleasant boating in the area soon. Our plan was to shoot south to get out of the cold weather as soon as possible. We still had one pass to go through and now we’d be towing a boat. All things to consider when towing a sizable load.

Turns out our hunch was correct. We left the worst of the winter weather behind us. By this time, we focused our thoughts more on those sunny Florida waters than anything else. However, another long trip awaited us.

Our first stop was in Portland, Oregon, to visit friends for a few days. When we left Portland, we prayed for fit weather to go through the pass, just north of Weed, California. We figured that would be our last concerning hurdle, as far as towing the boat went. We spend our first night out after Portland, in a motel in Weed. For the rest of the trip, we boaterhomed our way to Florida. Most were one-night stays with a couple of two-night stays as we’d get weary of getting up and driving every morning. Near the end of our trip, we stayed at a state park for three nights in Fairhope, Alabama while we visited family. We had awesome weather the whole way except the day before we reached Fairhope. It was one nasty, rainy, and windy day.

We were happy to arrive in Florida after completing this loop of our Colossal Road Trip with no mishaps and one day short of fantastic weather.

The blue line to the north shows our approximate route, going west, from Traverse City, Michigan to Seattle, Washington, in November. The red line, to the south, shows our route, going from Seattle southeast to Fort Myers, Florida. When we head home, in March, we will have completed the whole “Loop” around the United States.

Our first stop, after visiting friends in Portland for a few days, was a motel in Weed, California. First boaterhoming night on the new Kismet – Sun & Fun RV Park, Tulare, California (above and below). We did not see this sign until we were all settled into our site. A one-night stop for us.

We spent two nights in Needles, California at the Fenders Northshore RV Resort, on the Columbia River.

Our neighbor’s rig looked like a winking cat to us.

A one-night stay at the Columbus RV Park (above and below). When we registered we were given a six-pack of bottled water. They also had undrinkable water.

We stayed at this very nice KOA, in Las Cruces, New Mexico. It was up on a hill with a very nice view of the hills surrounding the town.

We finally reached our planned destination, a few days short of Fort Myers, Florida, to visit family for three days. Meaher State Park – It was a great spot on Mobile Bay and close to Fairhope, Alabama, where our family lives.

One more overnight stop, in Florida, before we reach our destination.

And finally, we arrived at our destination… Fort Myers, Florida.